College Readiness & GEAR UP Partnerships

College readiness refers to the set of skills, knowledge, and behaviors students develop before their first year. It can help students find success while at the University of Iowa. Academic Support & Retention partners with organizations such as the Iowa Department of Education: Future Ready Iowa, Iowa Higher Education Mathematics Transition Advisory Council, and Iowa College Aid that focus more on building relationships and creating pathways that connect K-12 and higher education in ways that result in helping students across the state of Iowa become better prepared for post-secondary opportunities. 

Iowa College Aid has received a series of grants to support the establishment of GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) Iowa, a program supporting underserved students to prepare, enroll and persist through college. Through these grants, University of Iowa partners support GEAR UP students in preparing them to enroll and succeed in college and supporting them if they attend the University of Iowa.  

Early Intervention Team

Student success can be hindered by many issues: physical and mental health, personal problems, substance abuse, and finances.

If you have a student who could benefit from additional support, call the Early Intervention Team (EIT).  We will provide support and coordinate the necessary resources to get the student back on track.

First-Year Seminars

At the University of Iowa, a First-Year Seminar (FYS) is a topic-based course that is specifically designed to introduce new, first year students to important principles and academic expectations that will help them be successful in college. Classes are small (capped around 20 students), taught by faculty and instructional staff, and offered for 1 semester hour of credit. Seminars are designed around the UI’s 4 Pillars of a First-Year Seminar: academic inquiry, active learning, community and connectedness, and exploration of identity.

Learning at Iowa

Learning at Iowa is an initiative that focuses on improving learning across campus through the 3 Ms of learning, Mindset, Metacognition, and Memory. It focuses on how instructors can implement the 3Ms in their courses, as well as how we can educate students about the cognitive science of learning and how to approach their course work. 

 

Supplemental Instruction @ The Academic Resource Center

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic support program that is designed to support specific challenging courses and is grounded in active and collaborative learning, allowing students to deepen their understanding of course content and learn study skills that they can use in their classes. SI Leaders – peer undergraduate students who have been successful in the course previously – are hired to facilitate 3 50-minute group study sessions each week! Sessions are free and voluntary, and students can attend as many sessions as they want, coming and going as they please! The Academic Resource Center (ARC) is located on the ground floor of the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU).